Transgender Trevor
by Islander2
Summary: Ginny's mysterious trips to the Infirmary have her friends worried. Harry thinks she's dying. Ron thinks she's pregnant. Who's really right? And when will Ginny reveal the truth?


**Disclaimer: **Not mine. Belongs to JK.

**Transgender Trevor**

"So, Hermione, what are you wearing to Ginny's funeral?"

Hermione glared at him from over her Transfiguration textbook. "Come on, Harry! That's totally inappropriate. Ginny's not even dead yet."

Harry shrugged, a little morose, and returned to his Quidditch manual. The two of them were in an alcove in the Hogwarts Library facing west, trying to catch as much of the late winter sun as they could before another snow cloud claimed it. It was one of those stubborn periods in early March where trees were just starting to blossom but where the weather refused to brighten with them.

They were silent a little longer before Harry said quietly, "I'm going to wear my best dress robes. You know, the ones I wore to my Order of Merlin ceremony after I killed Voldemort."

Hermione humphed irritably and didn't answer. She _almost_ seemed intent on paying attention to her textbook and her textbook alone, but her body stiffened as Harry spoke.

He let forth a little sigh, long and sad. "It's just… it's so hard to imagine, Ginny dying and all. It's a little ironic, too. All I can think about is how hard she fought in the war. She even saved my life… more than once! Think of all the battles she fought with us, think of all the times she helped us get through. Hell, _she_ deserved that Order of Merlin, First Class, just as much as me. And to think she survived _all that_, and now she's gonna get killed by stupid, shitty cancer."

Hermione slammed her textbook shut, so suddenly that Harry jumped and bumped his head against the alcove's glass. "Harry James Potter, will you _stop it?_ Not only is Ginny not dead yet, but we don't even know what's wrong with her. I don't know where you're getting the idea that she has cancer."

"She's been to the Infirmary every week since we got back from Christmas break," Harry said. "Every week, twice a week, for the past two months. _And_ she went to St. Mungo's on Valentine's Day. She's got something real serious, and every time I ask why she went, she refuses to say."

"That's mysterious, to be sure," Hermione said acerbically. "That's suspicious. That's quite the puzzle. But one thing it's _not_ is cancer."

Harry widened his deep green eyes as he tried to blink away a tear. "It's just _so sad_, what this is doing to us. _You're_ normally the reasonable one, and _I'm_ normally the one in denial. Whenever I think about afterwards, when she's dead, and what it'll do to us… it just devastates me!"

"You're mad, Harry," Hermione muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You're letting your imagination get the best of you. Yes, something serious is going on with Ginny. But we don't know what it is yet. Now please shut up. I'm trying to study for Transfiguration."

This time Harry's sigh was even longer and even quieter. "How can you even think of studying?" he said, his voice filled with melancholy.

"_I_ can think of it because, unlike you, I'm not the most famous wizard on the planet, and a job isn't going to fall into my lap. So, while you read Quidditch books and invent a tragic ending for one of our best friends, _I_ am going to study for my N.E.W.T.'s."

Harry wrinkled his nose crossly. "You make it sound like I didn't put any effort to get to where I am. I had to kill Voldemort." He suddenly became morose again as he added, "And Ginny helped. Had she not had my back in the last battle, I'd be dead… just like she's going to be."

The next moment, Ron arrived with a massive Charms tome in his arms. He plopped between Hermione and Harry in the alcove and said shortly, "Ginny's pregnant."

Harry and Hermione both raised their eyebrows in shock. "What do you mean?" Hermione said, her voice a half-octave higher than normal.

"I don't know whose it is. And I don't know what I should tell her. Should I encourage her to keep it or put it up for adoption?"

"So she's really pregnant?" Hermione said.

"If it's Malfoy's, I'm gonna ask her to abort it."

"But when did she tell you?" Hermioned pressed.

Ron gave her a weird look. "She hasn't told me yet," he said, as if he'd already explained this. "I asked her why she's going to the Infirmary so much, and she just blushed and wouldn't say. And she'd tell her own brother if she was really sick, so if she's trying to hide something from me, it's obvious she's pregnant."

Hermione growled irritably. "So she's _not_ pregnant, you fool."

"But she is!" Ron insisted.

Harry put a hand on Ron's shoulder and said, "Ssshh, Ron, it's okay. I know it's hard to accept that Ginny's going to die. But we'll be there for you, I promise."

"She's _not_ sick," Ron said. "And if she is, it's only morning sickness."

Harry kept his hand on Ron's shoulder and even gave him a squeeze or two. "If it helps you cope," he whispered, "we can pretend she's pregnant." He gave Ron's shoulder another squeeze and said, very gently, "If it _is_ Malfoy's, definitely abortion."

"You two are ridiculous!" Hermione snapped. "Harry, she's not dying. Ron, she's not pregnant. She could be going to the hospital for any number of reasons. Maybe she has very bad period cramps, and she's trying out different kinds of birth control."

Ron and Harry both pulled away from Hermione, their noses wrinkled. "That's ridiculous, Hermione," Ron said emphatically.

"Seriously," Harry agreed. "That has to be the most far-fetched thing I've ever heard. And insensitive, too, joking about periods when Ginny's dying."

"It's _not a joke!"_ Hermione said crossly. "You guys are overreacting to what could very well be a normal, _benign _Infirmary routine. I'll bet no one else has even noticed Ginny's visits."

Just then, Neville appeared, his arms full of Herbology books. "Hey," he said, "Is Ginny sick or pregnant?" He set the books down in the alcove and squeezed between Ron and Hermione. The four of them were now quite crowded, and Hermione couldn't help but glare at Neville for continuing the interruption of her studies.

"Pregnant," Ron said, at the same time that Harry said, "Sick." Neville just raised his eyebrows at the two of them.

"I just hope it's not Malfoy's," Ron growled.

"It's cancer," Harry said emphatically.

"If it's Malfoy's, it certainly is some kind of cancer!" Ron added.

"Whatever it is, she's sure been to the Infirmary a lot, and I'm real worried," Neville said. "I don't want her to die. Or be pregnant before she's ready. She's too good a friend. She's the first person I came out to, you know." At the end of their Sixth Year, just after Harry defeated Voldemort, Neville had come out as gay. The school had taken it pretty well, though some of the more traditional-minded Purebloods gave him a hard time. Ginny always stuck up for him. As did Luna, even though she was quite disappointed to learn he was gay after having a tremendous crush on him for the past year.

"Really?" Hermione said, intrigued enough to break away from her studies. "I didn't know that."

"Yeah. I came out to her the day after the Department of Mysteries. She said she admired me even more for having told her, and then we went off to the Kitchens to eat chocolate eclairs and gossip about hot boys. I almost wish she was a dude, so we could… you know…"

Ron looked a little revolted at the suggestion. "If I found out _you_ got her pregnant, Neville, I'll be too surprised to do anything… but only for a day or so. Then I'd track you down and beat you up."

"Um, no," Neville said properly, "Ginny wouldn't let you. She'd beat your arse just to deter you."

Hermione laughed at the idea, but Harry let out yet another sigh, laced with a little bit of a moan. "If she still has the strength!" he mourned. "A month ago, she could've beat up Ron, no problem. But now? With the cancer and all?"

"Hey! She couldn't beat me up!" Ron insisted. "At least, if I really tried to defend myself. But I wouldn't, because I'm not about to fight a pregnant lady."

At that moment, Madam Pince swooped in like an eagle, her face pinched and her eyes glinting with fury. "Out!" she hissed. "Get out! This library is a place for _study_, not frivolous gossip! Out, I say!"

So the four of them left the library and purposed to find Ginny. Maybe they could finally get her to tell them what was going on. It was close to dinnertime, which was when Ginny normally stopped by the Infirmary, so they headed up there, hoping to catch her as she left.

As they reached the Infirmary's corridor, Harry said suddenly, "I've thought of a eulogy."

The other three stumbled only a moment at his words before resuming their stride, but they all cast him an uncomfortable glance.

"It's in the form of a haiku:

_You died far too young._

_Cancer claimed what Voldemort_

_Couldn't. I am empt— ._"

There was a few seconds of silence. Then Neville coughed and said, "Empt? What the hell do you mean by _empt_?"

"I ran out of syllables."

"More importantly," Hermione harrumphed, "what do you mean by _cancer?_ There's no reason to suspect that's what she has."

Harry was about to argue with her, but just as they were about to enter the Infirmary, the door suddenly opened, and Ginny stepped out. They all stopped and stared at each other, shocked.

Ginny was bald.

More like, her hair was trimmed extremely close to her head. Only a little bit of the ginger color was visible. She looked a little tired. She wore a half-smile, but a pool of worry still lurked in her eyes. She was wearing Muggle clothes—faded jeans and a teal t-shirt, with her school robes bundled in her arms.

"Hey there," she said, a little nervously. "C-can we go somewhere more private? I have something I need to tell you."

Harry and Ron were too flustered to say much, but Neville said quickly, "The Astronomy Tower?"

"No, too many snogging couples there," Hermione said, the briskness in her voice not quite managing to overshadow the nervousness. "How about the hallway under Trelawney's tower? Nobody goes there after class hours."

So they headed in that direction, Ginny walking a few strides in front of them. As they all strode through the corridors, Harry turned to Hermione, Ron, and Neville and hissed fiercely, "See? I told you she has cancer! She's shaved her head in preparation for chemotherapy!" His voice quavered at the thought.

"It's just the pregnancy hormones that made her do it," Ron hissed back, though his flaming red eyebrows wrinkled with worry.

"It's cancer, it's cancer, it's cancer, it's cancer," Harry moaned, getting more worked up by the minute.

"Dude, you two are making me really nervous," Neville whispered. "Please stop."

"We'll find out soon enough what's going on," Hermione put in. "So please, no more talk until we get to Trelawney's tower."

In a few more minutes, they were there. Ginny sat them down on a window seat at the bottom of the staircase that led to Trelawney's trapdoor. The nearest portrait was one hallway over, so they were all alone. Ginny didn't bother to sit down, but instead paced in front of them, not quite looking them in the eye.

"I have something to tell you," she said.

A few seconds passed, but she didn't continue speaking. She did, however, continue pacing.

"Go on, spit it out," Neville encouraged her.

"Whatever it is, we'll love you until the very end," Harry said.

"And whatever you've done, you'll always be family," Ron added.

Hermione nodded in agreement with all of them and said, "What's the matter? What is it, Ginny?"

Ginny took a deep breath, stopped pacing, and looked them in the eye. "Well… Truth is, I don't want to be called Ginny anymore."

They all stared at her nonplussed for a few seconds, especially when she didn't go into more detail.

So she continued. "I want to be called Julian."

"Why?" Ron said, not understanding.

"Because," she said, wringing her hands a little, "I'm… well, I'm not really Ginny. I mean, that's not who I am. I've always felt… different. Like I was trapped in the wrong body."

Neville nodded slowly and motioned for her to continue speaking. "So you're saying you're… trrrrrr…"

"I, well, I'm transgender," Julian said, grateful for the prompting. "I think I knew when I was a little child, though I didn't understand what it was until got to school and I had to be in the girl's dormitories. And even then I didn't get to talk about it with anyone until Dumbledore made us all go into therapy after the Department of Mysteries."

There was a moment of silence, then Harry blurted out, "Thank _God_!"

"What do you mean?" Julian said, quite taken aback.

"I thought you had cancer!" Harry said, heaving one more massive sigh, though this time it was one of relief. "What with all those visits to the Infirmary and everything. I've been a bit of a wreck, actually. I had a eulogy written and everything."

"Harry!" Hermione snapped. "That's not a very sensitive thing to say!" She turned to Julian and said, "Listen, Gi—Julian, we all stand by what we just said. We love you and accept you as you are."

But Julian was laughing at what Harry said, a bit giddily. "Did you really think I had cancer, Harry?"

"Well, those constant trips to the Infirmary had me really worried," Harry admitted.

"I thought you were pregnant with Malfoy's baby," Ron added sheepishly.

Julian laughed even more heartily at that thought. "With… _Malfoy's_ baby? Can you give me a word that starts with an _'a'_ and ends with _'bortion?'_ No, I was meeting up with Madame Pomfrey to plan out my hormone therapy. I started on the potions two weeks ago. And—" he flashed a grin— "by the end of April I'll be ready for the Skele-gro and hormone portion cocktail to grow myself a… well, you know…" He glanced briefly below his waist.

"Hey!" Ron yelped. "I wouldn't let Fred or George or Charlie talk about their penises, so I don't want to hear about yours, either, even if you don't have it yet." He paused after a moment of deep, sudden thought and added, with a mixture of nervous and piercing curiosity, "C-can you get Madame Pomfrey to fix the potion to, y'know, make it really big?"

"Ron!" Hermione cried. "That's a very, _very_ inappropriate question! How about you give Gi—Julian some privacy regarding his transition?"

"Oh, Hermione, it's okay," Julian said. "I mean, of course it's an inappropriate question to ask a trans Wizard, but I personally don't mind, and you all are family anyway. And no, Ron, there's nothing that can be done about that. The magic in my body will grow the penis to just the size it would be had I been born with one to begin with."

"Well, now that you're his brother," Neville put in jovially, "that means he can fight back when you beat him up."

Julian laughed quite merrily, and the worry that had been lingering in his eyes was now gone. He looked at the four of them and, laughter subsiding, said very seriously and very earnestly, "I'm so grateful you three are taking it so well. I was afraid it'd be… well, weird for you. Or that it'd seem… unnatural."

"Don't be silly," Hermione said warmly, "it's very natural. It's found in nature all the time. You know some species of frogs and toads will change gender."

"Yeah, even Trevor does sometimes," Neville put in.

Julian folded his arms and twisted his lip at Neville. "You're joking, right?"

"No, not at all!" Neville said, unable to hold back a grin. "I found out when I took him in for a checkup at the Magical Menagerie the Christmas break before last. Orla Quirke owns a toad, too, but it's male, so Trevor will transition to female to mate with him. Whenever it happens, I call her Trina."

"Well, I hope I look slightly better when I transition than Trevor does. Or, um, than _Trina_ does," Julian said wryly. "Though this haircut… ugh, Madame Pomfrey's no hairstylist. I told her I wanted it short, and she about shaved my head. Any shorter, and she'd've reached the bone."

"Well, _I_ think you look very sexy," Neville said empathically. He blushed quickly and stuttered, "I mean, I—I think your hair looks very sexy." He reached forward and ran his hand over Julian's short, red hair. "It feels so… so soft, yet so short and sharp. I love it!"

"Really?" Julian said, giving Neville a special smile.

"Really really," Neville said.

"Well, thanks." He smiled at Neville a second longer, then turned to the others. "I feel a lot better now. Thank you, all of you. I think facing the rest of the school will be easier now."

"And if anyone gives you grief," Neville said, "Send 'em to me. You hexed them to bits when I came out, and I'm quite itching to return the favor, if the need arises."

"Cast a cancer curse," Harry suggested. "I still have a eulogy haiku, and I'd rather like the chance to share it!"

**A/N: **Wow. It's been over four years since I've posted a fanfiction. I've missed it so goddamn much! I have an idea for another novel-length fic, which I've written a few chapters on. But I'm in that crazy, turbulent period of life right after college, and it's been both astoundingly wonderful and horrifying at the same time, and I've not written properly in nearly three years, so I thought I'd warm up with a one-shot. Things are still nowhere near to being settled down, so please please please deluge me with encouragements to write more on my novel-length fic! It'll keep me grounded… I hope!

Quick disclaimer for this story: It's fluff. And it's a one-shot. I'm a cis male, and I don't really feel that qualified to tap into the issue, but I've never seen a transgender fanfic (and honestly, I don't think I've even seen a single transgender character in Harry Potter fanfiction yet), so I just wanted to pop in and leave this here as a tribute to my trans friends. I love you all! :)


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